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Viking project ties Turkey to Europe  Saturday, February 9, 2008 The original idea behind the Viking route is to connect Ukraine’s Illichivsk and Lithuania’s Klaipeda seaports but it can easily be stretched to Turkey, says Lithuania’s ambassador

  A joint initiative by Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine to connect their railroads and seaports known as the "Viking project" has resulted in an alternative route for Turkish businessmen to easily access western European and Scandinavian markets through Black Sea ports, said the ambassador of European Union-member Lithuania this week.

  "Easy border crossing, simplified customs procedures and attractive tariffs are the main advantages of the Viking route carrying international and transit cargo," Darius Pranckevicius told the Turkish Daily News in an exclusive interview.

  "It is amazing that the train Viking can cross the EU border in 30 minutes!" said the ambassador.

  Lithuania, an eastern European country, which joined the EU in 2004, has well-developed road, port and railway infrastructure, allowing the flow of cargo to reach the most important regional transportation corridors.

  The name "Viking" refers to a member of Scandinavian seafaring traders, warriors and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late eighth to the 11th century. The combined train Viking, however, is one of the promising international projects uniting Black Sea countries with Western Europe and Scandinavia.

  The Lithuanian ambassador said the original idea of the project launched in 2000 was to create a corridor between Ukraine's Illichivsk and Lithuania's Klaipeda seaports but underlined that the route can easily be extended to the Black Sea and even the south Caucasus and the Caspian. 

  "One of the most promising opportunities is to extend the shuttle train Viking for carrying cargo to/from Turkey," said Pranckevicius.

  The ambassador explained that Turkish shipments from within Turkey or from Iran, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan can be transported to seaports in Samsun, Trabzon or Istanbul and from there to Ukraine's Illichivsk Port in boats.

  He added from Illichivsk – next to Odessa – the cargo loaded in train or large trucks pass through Belarus and reach Klaipeda, a seaport of Lithuania. From Klaipeda they might be delivered to western European or Scandinavian countries.

  "If the final destination is Germany, the shipments can directly be dispatched to this country from the Klaipeda seaport," said the ambassador.

  Pranckevicius pointed to the intense flow of Turkish shipments especially to Germany and said the Viking route would be advantageous for Turkey to transport its goods cheaper, faster and without facing such bureaucratic obstacles as lengthy visa and customs procedures.

  "We want to make this route competitive. Turkish shipments destined for Germany normally have to pass through all these EU countries without the Viking route," said the ambassador, illustrating on the map.

   Gov't lends support; businessmen to decide 

  The Viking train is currently functioning on the 1,734 kilometer Illichivsk-Kiev-Minsk-Vilnius-Klaipeda route, which it traverses in 56 hours, and runs three times a week. Pranckevicius said the train shuttle could increase parallel to increasing cargo turnover.

  The Turkish government extends full support to the Viking project. The transportation ministers of Turkey and Lithuania met twice last year and signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the use of train Viking. Turkey's minister, Binali Yıldırım, announced in March 2007 that Turkey would definitely support plans to stretch the route of Viking up to Turkey. 

  "Lithuania is highly interested in cooperation with Turkey to extend the route from Illichivsk seaport to Turkish ports of Trabzon or Istanbul," said the ambassador, who himself is discussing the project, which is not well-known in Turkey, with officials from the local chambers.

  "We have support from your government. But it is up to your businessmen to use this alternative route; they will make their calculations and choice. We are doing everything to make this route competitive," he concluded.